Counters may be manufactured from various sources both natural and manmade. While recently as a decorating item, there has been a strong emphasis on use of natural materials such as granite and marble there has also been a use of solid manmade products which simulate granite or marble. Typical of these is the surfacing material sold under the trade mark CORIAN™. While all of these materials are durable, they are generally expensive to supply and install.
A counter having excellent value characteristics which has been available for a long time and has been used in many domestic, industrial, commercial and other installations is a countertop which has an upper laminate layer which provides the appearance and durability layer. The laminate layer is mounted on some type of supporting structure. The supporting structure is typically a wood based material such as particle board. This type of countertop may be formed with a back splash, a bull nose front edge or other configurations that are desirable. When mounting a typical sink, the position of the sink is first determined and then a cutout is made which is sufficiently large to accommodate the bowl of the sink while the flange of the sink rests on the laminate layer of the countertop. In order to inhibit passage of water between the laminate layer and the flange of the sink, the sink is usually mounted in some type of sealant or bedding compound.
While the foregoing mounting system has been utilized as a standard, there has always been the desire to have a mounting system in which the flange of the sink is mounted so that it is flush with the upper surface of the top of the countertop. In the case of a granite, marble or other manmade type of counter, a rabbet can be formed in the countertop material and the sink mounted with the flange in a flush condition. However, if that type of mounting is utilized with the typical countertop having a laminate upper surface, once the laminate is removed, then the underlying wood based support structure, particularly particle board, is no longer protected by the laminate layer. In most cases, there will be an unacceptably early failure of the countertop if water is permitted to enter into the wood based substrate. Accordingly, flushmount installations are not used in connection with the type of countertop which provides the excellent value referred to above.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for flush mounting a plumbing appliance such as a sink having a flange or a faucet in a countertop comprised of an upper laminate layer and a underlying wood based support body.